Fox News Channel, for instance, clocked its biggest quarterly total-viewer crowd in its history. The network launched in October of 1996.

FNC’s flagship primetime show, The O’Reilly Factor, claimed the biggest quarter total-viewer tally for any program in cable news history, 4 million viewers.

In every timeslot, from 6 AM and 11 PM, FNC logged its biggest ever quarterly crowds.

But CNN and MSNBC also had things to crow about in re the quarter that started on December 26, 2016 – the day news outlets reported Stephen Miller would write President-elect Trump’s American Carnage Inaugural Address – and ran though this past Sunday.

MSNBC, for instance, enjoyed cable news’s biggest ratings boosts, percentage-wise, year to year, including a 51% spike in total day total viewers (756K), a 58% total-viewer leap in primetime (1.402M viewers), as well as a 37% jump in total-day news-demo viewers (179K), and a 46% pop in primetime news-demo viewers (330K).

CNN, meanwhile, boasted its most-watched 1Q since 2003 in both total viewers and the news demo for total day. All

MSNBC

CNN shows beat MSNBC’s this quarter in the news demo, except at 9 PM, where Rachel Maddow prevailed, thanks in no small part, to her much mocked – but also much viewed – reveal of Donald Trump’s headline-challenged 2005 tax return. The episode attracted her biggest crowd on record, 4.13 million viewers, including about 1.4M in the 25-54 news demographic group, which was also a Maddow record. Maddow’s is the only non-FNC program to crack the cable news’ quarterly Top 10, in total viewers (No. 7) and in the demo (No. 6)

CNN showed a slight 1Q ratings slip in primetime compared to last year, owing to the network having hosted a mind-numbing 12 exclusive ratings-magnet debates and town halls in first quarter ’16, to MSNBC’s 1 and FNC’s 3.

In total viewers, the Top 5 cable news shows of 1Q17: FNC’s The O’Reilly Factor (3.982M), Tucker Carlson Tonight (3.272M), The Five (3.031M), Special Report with Bret Baier (2.953M) and Hannity (2.871M).

Among adults 25-54, the Top 5 cable news show of 1Q17: The O’Reilly Factor (728K); Tucker Carlson Tonight (689K); Hannity (668K); The First 100 Days (540K), and Special Report with Bret Baier (533K).

Here are 1Q17 stats before finale weekend factored in:

TOTAL DAY
FNC: 1,728,000 total viewers – up 28% (362,000 in 25-54 – up 34%) (65,000 in 18-34 – up 38%)
CNN: 812,000 total viewers – up 11% (260,000 in 25-54 – up 20%) (60,000 in 18-34 – up 3%)
MSNBC: 756,000 total viewers – up 51% (179,000 in 25-54 – up 37%) (37,000 in 18-34 – up 28%)

PRIMETIME: 8-11PM/ET
FNC: 2,866,000 total viewers – up 21% (580,000 in 25-54 – up 20%) (107,000 in 18-34 – up 2%)
CNN: 1,175,000 total viewers – down 17% (402,000 in 25-54 – down 12%) (102,000 in 18-34 – down 28%)
MSNBC: 1,402,000 total viewers – up 58% (330,000 in 25-54 – up 46%) (70,000 in 18-34 – up 37%)